26 July, 2011

A friend tweeted that Glenn Beck “has offered reassurances why we need not mourn for the 80+ youths massacred in Norway… apparently they were “Hitler youth”.

That may be an unfriendly reading of what Beck said, which was:

“There was a shooting at a political camp, which sounds a little like, you know, the Hitler youth. I mean, who does a camp for kids that’s all about politics? Disturbing.”

Without the audio I don’t know if “Disturbing” referred to the shooting or the idea of a political camp for kids. If the former, which is the most charitable interpretation, we’re still left with a mind-numbingly stupid thing to say. How does he get from a politics camp to Hitler Youth? There are all kinds of political camps for kids, as others are gleefully pointing out. And this is what he says just days after a bunch of kids was gunned down by a lunatic?

I’ve never been a fan of Beck. I know that most of his detractors are full of it, eager to lie or exaggerate. But this shows that he is, at best, a thoroughly thoughtless jerk. At worst he’s an idiot and a bottom feeder. If anybody on the conservative side of the aisle still listens to this clown my question to them is, in light of this, why?

Update:

For all my Lefty friends who are feeling smug about how offensively stupid Beck is, do you read Thomas Friedman? Here’s what he said on another subject:

“If sane Republicans do not stand up to this Hezbollah faction in their midst, the Tea Party will take the G.O.P. on a suicide mission.”

After that will you still read Thomas Friedman? If you do, you have to stop complaining about Beck.